Israel Vlodavsky received his B.Sc and M.Sc. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute, followed by postdoctoral training at UCLA and UCSF. He then established the Tumor Biology Research Unit of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center and served as a Visiting Prof. at Harvard, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the Australian National University. In 2002, he was recruited to the Technion where he established the Cancer & Vascular Biology Research Center. His research is published in over 450 original papers (46,000 citations, H index = 114) and is being presented at leading international conferences. Vlodavsky was among the first to realize that the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an active role in orchestrating cellular responses to normal and pathological situations. His discovery of the ECM as a reservoir for bioactive molecules provided the basis for the current appreciation of the tumor microenvironment and its significance in cancer progression and treatment. A major achievement of Israel Vlodavsky is the cloning and characterization of heparanase, the predominant enzyme degrading heparan sulfate. This enzyme plays important role in tissue remodeling, cancer metastasis, angiogenesis, inflammation, diabetes, and kidney dysfunction. Ongoing studies focus on heparanase-2, a natural inhibitor of heparanase that functions as a tumor suppressor. Vlodavsky is the pioneering scientist in these areas of research, offering basic insights and new treatment strategies for various cancers, inflammation, and other diseases. His research is continuously supported by the ISF, ICRF, BSF, NIH, and other agencies.
Prof. Israel Vlodavsky
Faculty:Medicine
